


High Fidelity

by abandoned_quiche



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Community: fandomweekly, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6615109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abandoned_quiche/pseuds/abandoned_quiche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose knows that she won't be around forever. What she doesn't know, however, is how to convince Pearl of that fact.</p>
            </blockquote>





	High Fidelity

**Author's Note:**

> Fandomweekly #004: Last To Know

To a Pearl, there was little beyond the world other than the gem that kept them. That didn't mean that they couldn't share the same experiences and see the same sights, but even the smallest glance could only ever be from a different point of view. A Pearl could be at the side of a Diamond as they went throughout the galaxy, but the space in between that shared experience was almost insurmountable. (Rose knew this.)

Pearl had grown so much, to such an extent that it made Rose's heart sing. She was brave and resourceful and, having been coaxed into voicing her own opinions, a valuable partner for the duration of the war. The effects and consequences of that conflict still weighed heavy on Rose's conscience, but for the time being, Earth was quiet and peaceful and Pearl would raise her fingertips to the heavens as she danced across the beach, leaving neat patterns in the sand behind her. Rose would sometimes take her hand and dance alongside her, unable to help a whisper - " _My Pearl_..."

" _Always._ "

When Rose said that, she meant it in the singular - and yet, so easy to take as a statement of ownership. She didn't mean it like that. She didn't _want_ to mean it like that. _Here, Pearl, you are, this precious and brave gem--_. That response gave her concern, however. Pearl had changed so much, and their situation had changed even more - they couldn't go home, but Pearl didn't want to. When Rose said _my Pearl_ , she would blush and smile in that certain way and the more she did it, the more Rose felt trapped by it. As a Pearl, she had been formed in order to bow and smile, offer no thought, think of nothing. Like birds trapped in cages, safe but confined. The way was open; Pearl sat on the doorstep.

At the same time, Pearl's loyalty was useful; Rose hated herself to think it, but couldn't deny it. With loyalty as her weapon, there lay little she couldn't cut down. So strong and yet so fragile; to deny Pearl her devotion could break her as neatly as a fracture through her gemstone.

 _I'm no different to any gem that ever kept a Pearl_. Were she to voice this thought, Rose knew that she would find herself confronted by that stubborn nature that charmed her so much, as if it were beyond Pearl's capacity to understand such a concept. To her, all of this was new and different. Who had ever heard of a Pearl on the battlefield, of a Pearl with a sword?!

 _Any Pearl would do as they were asked, though. Taking suggestion, believing it their own will_. The more Rose thought of it, the more hopeless it seemed. She hoped that fusion might bring about some sense of equality, but the process only seemed to leave Pearl more overwhelmed than ever.

"I might not be around forever, you know."

The first time Rose expressed that sentiment, Pearl had laughed the thought away without consideration. "How farfetched. Is this one of those Earth jokes you keep trying to get me to understand?"

Leaving enough time inbetween to reset the issue, Rose tried once more. A slightly different tactic. "If you had to live here without me, how would you approach that?"

To phrase it as a question engaged Pearl's quick thinking, but the moment that the thought stopped dead was clear on her face. "... I--... I couldn't."

(So open and so raw. So truthful, so painful.) Rose had brushed fingers against her cheek, then, moving to tip her chin up, just slightly. She smiled, as gentle as she could manage. "I think you could. I think you could do anything, if you put your mind to it."

"Why--... why would I ever want to, though...?"

Rose knew the magic words that could turn this around, and hated them. Hated them. Still smiled. "... I want you to grow, Pearl. To an extent that I can't even imagine." ( _I want. Want. I'm asking you. Asking this of you. I'm suggesting. I'm telling you. This isn't a command! ...Do it, though._ )

"I, I'm--... I'm not--..."

"Pearl. There'll come a time when I'll need for you to guard something for me. Cherish it, treasure it, _protect_ it. Would you do that for me?"

"Of course, but what's that got to do with--"

(Rose silenced her with a kiss. _I'm sorry, Pearl. Another one of those Earth distractions_.)

 

________________________________________

 

"Hey, Pearl?"

"Yes, Steven?"

"Where did I come from?"

Pearl had been tidying away the washing-up, but couldn't help freezing in place on hearing _that_ question. _Calm down, Pearl. Greg said this would happen one day. Steven isn't getting any younger. Quite the opposite, in fact!_ "Oh, um... we've been over this, haven't we? Created from the gem of Rose Quartz--"

"No, I mean--..." Steven paused, frowning. "I heard something different, that's all."

"About human reproduction?"

"... Yeah."

Abandoning the cutlery for the time being, Pearl approached Steven and then knelt down in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. "Well, the mechanics of the endeavor may differ, but I still believe them to be somewhat similar. ' _When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much_ '... that kind of thing."

"I dunno if Connie knows much about gem biology, though."

 _Is it still biology if it concerns gems?_ "I'd imagine not."

"You were there though, weren't you? When I was born? Do you remember how it happened?"

Steven was able to ask questions like that so easily. _So innocent_. Pearl stood up, wondering if it was even _possible_ to sum up the naked grief, the desperation, the sheer guilt she'd felt for feeling _betrayed_ \--

"I think your father might know a little more about it than I do." She patted Steven on the head, ruffling his hair. "Try a couple of your questions on him."


End file.
